


your mirror and your opposite

by swimmingseafish



Series: The Company Ficlets [3]
Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: (temporary), Adopted Sibling Relationship, Animal Death, Gen, Minei is an oc, Necromancy, Petra is an actual side character from the game, as in Petra sees Minei and goes "she's my sister now"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-25 19:35:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30094080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swimmingseafish/pseuds/swimmingseafish
Summary: Nine-year-old Minei is used to being alone and unwanted, but one chance encounter is about to change that.
Relationships: Minei | Warmaster Mineille & Petra (GW2)
Series: The Company Ficlets [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2153646
Kudos: 1





	your mirror and your opposite

Minei was used to being alone. Running away from the orphanage had just made it official.

Everyone seemed to think of her as a problem to solve. Too smart, too independent, too at-ease with using necromancy. She should _listen_ and _follow the rules_ and _not raise minions inside the house._ Minei was having none of it.

So, here she was, a week later, walking through the streets of Divinity’s Reach, trying to find food. A baker had taken pity on her and given her a few stale pieces of bread, but every other merchant she’d run into had wanted gold, and she had none.

She was about halfway down a particularly dark alley when a pained squeak distracted her. She squinted ahead at the shadows.

A scrawny, orange cat had pounced on a big brown rat, slicing into the rat with its claws. Clearly pleased with its prey, the cat moved to bite the rat on the neck and finish the job.

“HEY!” Minei yelled.

The cat was so startled that it puffed up like a fluffy coat exposed to static electricity. It stared at the girl for a second, and Minei hissed at it. This spooked it enough that it took off running, leaving the dying rat behind.

Minei ran towards the small creature, which was taking labored, shallow breaths. She tentatively reached out and petted its fur, and it curled into her touch.

“I’m sorry,” Minei said quietly, her voice breaking. “I can’t heal you.”

A last shuddering exhale, and the rat lay still.

She took a deep breath. “But I can bring you back.”

Minei’s palms slammed against the rough cobblestones, and her fingers dug into the cracks. The ground erupted with green light as darkness encircled the rat’s body. She closed her eyes and _tugged_ , with instinctive knowledge coming from somewhere deep inside her.

The magic listened.

A tiny nose nudged her forearm, and her eyes opened. The resurrected rat, with glowing green stripes marking its cuts and unnaturally dark eyes, squeaked. It would have terrified the orphanage children, but it looked beautiful to Minei, who scooped it up and held it close to her chest.

“Wow!” said a small but enthusiastic voice over Minei’s shoulder. She jumped back and spun around, shielding the rat from view with her hands.

The speaker was a child who looked about the same age as Minei. Their hair was in two blond pigtails, and they exuded energy. Part of that might have been because they were wearing a bright pink dress, but an equally large portion of it came from the light in their eyes.

“I’ve never seen anyone do necromancy before!” the strange child continued, brightly. “It’s creepy, but cool—creepy-cool!” They laughed. Minei blinked, loosening her hold on the rat, who clambered up onto her shoulders and hid behind her messy braids. Its dark eyes peered out at the newcomer.

The child confidently stuck out a hand. “I’m Petra! She/her. My dad runs the tavern down the street. What’s your name?”

A pause. “I’m Minei,” Minei said, tentatively reaching out. Petra grasped her hand with an oddly determined strength. “She/her, too.”

“Nice to meet you!” Petra said, her excitement evident. Minei didn’t understand—what was so great about meeting her? “What about your parents? What do they do?”

“I don’t have parents.” Her tone was flat.

“Oh.” Petra’s eyes shuttered for a moment, and she let go of Minei’s hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?” Minei scuffed the sole of her right boot against the stones. “You don’t know me.” It comes out defensive.

“I know you’re creepy-cool,” Petra said, utterly serious now. She glanced at her wrist, and Minei noticed a golden bracelet there, too big for her. “And I don’t have a mom, so I kinda get it.”

It was Minei’s turn to say, “Oh.”

Petra took a breath just a bit deeper than average and let it out with a quiet sigh. “So, are you from the orphanage, then?”

“ _No_ ,” Minei snapped, recoiling from the other girl. The rat squeaked angrily. “They’re _assholes._ ”

Petra, amazingly, giggled, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth. “You swore! My dad says I can’t do that until I’m at least sixteen. Oh!” She clapped her hands, and Minei jumped a little. “How old are you? I’m ten!”

“It’s—” _None of your business_ , Minei almost said, but she stopped herself. “I’m nine.”

“What school do you go to? Are we in any of the same classes? Ooh! What’s your favorite subject? What about—”

Petra’s flood of questions halted as Minei’s stomach let out an embarrassingly loud grumble. She hugged her arms to her chest as if that would make it quiet down.

“Oh! Sorry! Do you need food? I have lots of food at home!” Petra paused, looking for something in Minei’s face. “If…maybe you’d want to come?”

Minei was hungry, and Petra seemed…weirdly nice, if forceful. She seemed legitimately interested in Minei, and she wanted to _help;_ she wanted to know more about her. She thought Minei was _cool._ But—

“Your dad won’t want me there.”

Petra looked utterly confused. “Of course he will! Why wouldn’t he?”

Minei just stared at her.

Petra nodded, then. “Oh, got it. He’s not an…he’s not like…he’s nice! I promise!” She grabbed Minei’s hand. “Come on! He’ll be happy to meet you!”

And they were running through the streets before Minei could say anything else.

The rat dug its claws into her shoulder, and Petra’s hand was tight around hers. Her dad, Mr. Andrew Nizan, was big and tall, but he was soft and bright like his daughter and much less scary than Minei had anticipated. When he learned she had nowhere to go, he insisted she stay overnight, and eventually she obliged. Surely, they wouldn’t want her to stay for longer—surely, she’d be kicked out soon. But there was food, and a roof over her head, and she was finally, tentatively happy.

_Please let me stay._

**Author's Note:**

> This girl has a whole lot of angst coming up in her life, but she also has a gift for bumping into people who can help make her happy. So she gets good things, too.
> 
> (I have no idea if "cool" is slang that kids in Divinity's Reach would use, but oh well--it is for this fic, at least.)
> 
> This might end up getting at least one more chapter, but that's very tentative. Hope you enjoyed regardless!


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